Christmas morning.

It's around 8:00 a.m., and I can smell bacon being cooked. Bruno is next to me in the bed, breathing heavily in my face. I smile and rub his sides before getting out of bed and racing him downstairs. I see Rian standing near the stove, and I see eggs and bacon a ray of vegetables and fruits on the counter.

"Merry Christmas!" I say cheerfully.

Rian turns around, and I'm satisfied with what I see. Rian in a pair of gray sweatpants, and a basically see through shirt.

"Merry Christmas, Alex. I'm almost finished making our breakfast and then I'll watch you open your gifts. I think you'll be more than happy with what I got for you." Rian says, and that sleepy voice makes him even more irresistible.

Rian soon serves me a plate with an omelette, and a small fruit salad on the side. He sets down two cups of coffee, and some salt and pepper. We sit next to each other on the couch, and Bruno is on the floor, occasionally begging for something off of our plates.

"Thank you for always making breakfast, I appreciate it. I'm not the best cook, and I'd feel pretty shitty if I burnt your place down. It probably costed millions." I say through a mouth full of the omelette.

"You're welcome, Alex. I always like to wake you up with a nice breakfast." Rian says, and he kisses my cheek.

After we indulge in our breakfast, we both sit down next to the tree, and I grab the sloppily wrapped present. I shake it, trying to figure out what it is, but I don't hear anything.

"What is this?" I ask with a laugh.

"Just open it!" Rian beseeches.

I tear the wrapping paper, and I see Burberry written across another box. My jaw drops to the floor, and I immediately look at Rian.

"You didn't!" I squeal with excitement.

I open the other box, and the red trench coat that was claiming me in the mall is inside.

"Oh, my God! Rian, you didn't have to do this!" I say, staring at the trench coat in disbelief.

This man spent almost $1,700.00 on a trench coat, for me.

"I wanted to, Alex. I could see how much you wanted it, and when you held it against you, I could tell you'd look beautiful in it." Rian says, smiling from ear to ear.

I launch myself into his arms, and he laughs into my ear as we embrace.

"It's beautiful, I love it. Thank you!" I say while kissing his cheek repeatedly.

"You're welcome," He says, chuckling. "Open your other ones."

I see a large box near my foot, and I grab it eagerly and shake it. I tear it opened, and a gasp leaves my throat. A large couture purse stares at me, and the inside of it smells like fresh Italian leather. The outside is black, and is detailed with crocodile skin.

"Oh. My. God. Rian, how did you get this? This purse was a limited edition, and the designer had only made about two hundred of these purses! How did you find it before it sold out?!" I ask, happiness coursing through me.

"I was aware of that, Alex. The day I got your gifts, I made sure I was one of the first people in line to get you this purse." Rian says.

"How'd you know that I wanted this?"

"When we went to the mall together, we passed this store, and I noticed you staring at the poster with the purse on it. It kind of clicked in my head."

"Rian, this was probably so expensive."

"It doesn't bother me, because I that every penny is well spent because you deserve it." Rian says, and he kisses me softly.

I reach for another box, and it's really small. I open it, and inside of it is heart tag charm with the letter 'A', and the letter is in diamonds. The chain for the necklace is separate from the necklace, and Rian comes over to help me clasp it. His long fingers skim my neck, and they feel like feathers gliding across my skin. I stare down at the necklace, and my smile is wide and I can't fight it off.

"It's beautiful, Rian." I say in awe, and I play with the charm.

"There's more to it."

He opens the other small box, and inside is an identical charm with the letter 'R'. He slides the charm onto my necklace, and he smiles at me.

A&R.

"Rian, I don't even know what to say. This is all so amazing."

"We're lucky to have each other, and I know it hasn't been long, but still. You mean a lot to me." He says, and I can feel my insides melting.

"You mean a lot to me, too. I can't even express how much I care about you." I say, and tears form in my eyes.

He pulls me in for a hug, and I smile against his chest. The happy tears make dots on his shirt, and I wipe underneath my eyes before laughing.

"Rian, I love you." I say, and my heart feels light and airy.

Surprise flashes in his eyes, and he grins at me.

"Alexandrianna, I love you." He says, and our lips come together as one.

Our lips fit perfectly together, like a puzzle piece. He holds my waist while we kiss each other, and our heavy breathing mixes in the air. His hands run through my hair, and I do the same to him as his lips travel down to the skin underneath my jaw.

"Rian," I say breathily.

"Yes?" He asks.

"I—, you've been so good to me. New Years will definitely be the best night I've ever spent with anyone." I say, and his eyes widen.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I'll have you wait and see." I say playfully, and we both laugh.

The things Rian said to me in the hospital from a couple of days ago rings in my head, and I find myself thinking about it more and more.

"I'm grateful that they assigned me to you, Alex. I know that 2016 will be started off right with you."

"I think we can both repay each other on New Years."

I think Rian is finally starting to realize that I'm not afraid to love him. He's realizing that I'm ready to love him.

To be with him in every way.

~~~

The look on Alex's face as she opened her presents made my whole day even better than it already was. The way her eyes would light up, and how she'd gasp and her jaw was opened.

Her eyes.

God, those chocolate brown eyes could hypnotize me.

I'm crazy in love.

In love.

My mother and my father fell quickly for each other, maybe even quicker than Alex and I. I'm only going to fall deeper in love with her after what happened after she finished opening her gifts. Her thick lips pressed against mine in the heat of the moment, passion boiling in our blood as we held each other. My mother was right.

She is the one.

I take the wrapped gifts that I got for my parents, Brendan, and Vanessa and I put them all in my car. Alex and I kiss before saying goodbye to each other and I start my drive. I'm thinking about Alex the whole time I'm driving there, and I nearly got into a few wrecks if I started to daydream about her. She's consuming my thoughts.

I think about certain things that I could do to her.

How she tastes...

How she sounds...

How she looks when I—, no!

Rian, control yourself. Just because you made out with her doesn't mean that you're ready to get that close to her.

I'm waiting for her consent, and once I receive it, I don't know if I'll be able to control all of my emotions. At the same time, I need to be gentle with her, and make sure that she's comfortable every step of the way.

Once I pull up to the iron gate, it opens, and I see everyone outside of the mansion waiting. Once I get out of the car, I nearly get tackled to the ground by everyone wanting to hug me.

"Rian!" They say in almost perfect harmony.

"Merry Christmas! I have your gifts in my car. Let me get them out for you." I say happily.

I hand out the gifts one by one, starting with Vanessa, and ending with my mom. Once they all open their gifts, they all thank me before we all sit at the table. A feast is waiting for us at the table, and I sit across from my father, who sits next to my mom. Once we say the prayer, we all dive into the food, talking and laughing as a family.

"So, Rian, what're your plans for New Years?" Brendan asks, with a slightly devilish look in his eyes.

"I'm going to a New Years party with Alex. I'll call or text you you all once it's midnight, okay? I'll be pretty occupied with Alex, and I want to spend that day and night with her."

"Ooh, Rian." Vanessa sing songs.

"V, quit." I say, and I awkwardly stare down at my food.

"What he does with Alexandrianna is his business, and his only. How would you feel if I told you all about your mother and I—," My dad starts, but we all groan in disgust.

"Okay, not trying to regurgitate my dinner." Brendan says, and shudders.

"For once, I agree with Brendan." Vanessa says, and we all laugh.

We all continue to eat, and once we're finished I hang out with Brendan and Vanessa downstairs in the lounge.

"Rian, you gonna smash her on New Years or what?" Brendan asks, and Vanessa smacks his arm.

"Brendan, stop being an ass. That's none of your business." Vanessa scolds.

"Thank you, and I'm getting a little sick of your comments, Brendan. It's Christmas and I don't want to have an argument with you."

"I agree, little bro. I'm happy that you found a girl that you can call yours. Let's see a picture of her." Brendan says.

I took an off guard picture of her when we went to the bistro, and she thought I was playing a game on my phone.

"She's pretty," Vanessa says and smiles.

"I know," I say, and my cheeks warm up when I see the picture.

She had her hand in her hair, just casually fixing it, and she looked like she was on the set of a photo shoot. I can see why she wants to model.

"When can we meet her?" Brendan asks.

"When we celebrate me getting my Doctorate degree. Which will be pretty soon, you'll love her. She's a really great person." I say, my heart fluttering when I think about her.

"Awww, Rian! That's so cute!" Vanessa squeaks, and I laugh.

"So how's dad? I haven't been able to visit much since the last time because I've been busy at the hospital." I ask, and they both look at each other.

"Dad is still insisting that he's fine, and they've been arguing a lot more lately." Vanessa says, and I can see her about to crumble.

"Where is he?" I ask furiously.

"Dude, don't! It's Christmas, and I don't think mom would—" Brendan says, holding me back.

"No! He needs to realize how serious this is!" I say, and push past him and walk upstairs.

I run up the grand staircase and into my parents bedroom, and I see my father laying out his gifts on the bed.

"Dad, I don't think that I can do this anymore with you." I say, on the verge of crying.

"Why son? What's the matter?" He asks, completely clueless.

"Stop acting like you're okay. Stop it. It's not going to do anything for this situation, in fact, it's only going to make it worse. Arguing with mom sure as hell won't ease your condition, either. When you keep insisting that you're okay the looks on mom and Nessa's forms a knot in my stomach. You need to realize that we're concerned because we know that you don't have that much time left, dad!" I plead.

His face is serious, and tears form in his eyes. I didn't mean for him to cry, I think that's him finally realizing his predicament. I walk over to him, and we embrace each other tightly while he softly weeps.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I care about you and you taught me to face reality, and you're not living up to your own lesson." I say, and I pinch my lips together.

"I know, son. I just can't even think about the fact that I won't be around for you guys and your mother pretty soon." He says, sniffing.

"I can't think about it either." I say, trying to hold back tears.

We hug each other again, and I don't want to let go of him, but I know I'll have to. I remember the days where it would just my father and I, and he'd just spend the whole day teaching me.

I miss that.

"Is everything okay in here?" My mother asks, peering inside the room.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just saying goodbye before I have to head back home." I reply, giving her a quick smile.

My mother comes over, and the three of us all hug again.

"Merry Christmas, Rian. I hope you have a great time over New Years with Alex." My mother says.

Starting the year off with Alex is definitely going to be a great time.

I know it will.